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Every time I travel to Portugal I am struck by the bright, alluring white wines.
Skilled winemakers seeking freshness are planting indigenous grapes (there are more autochthonous grapes per hectare in Portugal than anywhere on earth) where the vines can excel, at altitude, on cool soils, near the sea, in the path of cooling winds. Herbal, brisk, citrus-imbued: these are wines well-suited for foods, and crave seafood and shellfish, fresh vegetables and produce.
Continuing in the thread of last week's Top 10 Spanish Whites, Portuguese white wines are equally exciting, if mostly unknown. Perhaps it's because, outside of Vinho Verde (and even then we're only seeing a small segment of that vibrant market), Portuguese wines are largely absent from our shelves. I'm thrilled to see the wines on the list below, and drink them liberally to tide me over until we see more arinto, azal, trajadura, alvarinho, cercial, bical, encruzado, gouveio, jampal, verdelho, viosinho and others. Quality for price is outstanding. Watch for whites from regions beyond Vinho Verde, and from subregions within Vinho Verde.
Here are our Top 10 Portuguese white wines tasted recently at GOW.
*Spain and Portugal are the theme regions at this year's Vancouver International Wine Festival.
